There was a time when Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo were synonymous.
Young, gifted and backed to the hilt at Manchester United, they were, along
with a young lad at Barcelona named Lionel Messi, the teenage idols who
threatened to dominate world football for as far as the eye could see.

In fact, there was a time when Rooney looked the more promising. Whereas
Rooney’s team-mates voted him United’s player of the year in 2005-06,
Ronaldo’s immaturity, self-indulgence and perceived cowardice drove them to
distraction. Ruud van Nistelrooy was sold after clashing with Ronaldo on the
training pitch, but he